Anita Kerr Singers

Review: The faux-psychedelic graphics on the cover of this collection said it all-it was the aftermath of the Summer of Love in San Francisco, popular music was changing quickly, and Anita Kerr, having moved to LA after 17 years in Nashville, had this take on it. She had assembled a new group of Singers, the previous group not wanting to leave Nashville, and was rearranging pop hits like the Beatles' title tune, Bert Bacharach's 'The Look of Love,' Aretha's era-defining anthem 'Natural Woman,' The Mamas and the Papas' delightful 'Salt on Her Tail,' Frankie Valli's late-blooming hit 'I Make a Fool of Myself, the BeeGees' 'Holiday,' The Young Rascals' 'How Can I Be Sure' and The Association's 'Never My Love.' There's one fairly rare original by Anita on this orchestrally-accompanied collection, 'Stay.' The best of these 12 songs are interesting because they are romantic, sweet-harmonied, heavy-on-the-violins-and-horns takes on a new wave of popular music that was generally not about romance, sweet harmonies, violins and horns. 

Songlist: All You Need is Love, Holiday, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Never My Love, Stay, How Can I be Sure, Autumn Afternoon, No Salt on Her Tail, The Look of Love, In the Morning, I Make a Fool of Myself, The Last Waltz

Review: Sometimes a quartet, sometimes an octet, the former Anita Jean Grilli's groups had possibly even more to do with reshaping country music from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s than Elvis and the Jordanaires. The direction in which she took country music is very clear on 'From Nashville:' pop and light classics, not country. Still, these 12 bright, smooth, upbeat hits, accompanied by saxophones and massed violins are powerful and fine. Songs like 'Hey, Joe,' 'My Last Date (With You),' 'Singing the Blues,' 'You Don't Know Me,' 'The Old Master Painter,' 'Night Train to Memphis,' 'Bye, Bye Love' 'Four Walls' and 'Oh Lonesome Me' opened up the possibility of scoring major pop hits for country singers, and Anita was in on the ground floor of a fast-growing recording industry in Nashville. More than a period piece, 'From Nashville' is country and pop music history in the making.

Songlist: Hey Joe, My Last Date (With You), Singing The Blues, The Old Master Painter, You Don't Know Me, Near You, Night Train to Memphis, I'll Hold You In My Heart, Bye, Bye Love, Four Walls, Oh Lonesome Me, Half As Much

Review: This accompanied pop classic of 'Sounds' (dig the new sounds, baby) from Anita and her often-changing group of singers from the late 60s features a more saccharine, innocent take on that turbulent era. For the first time in her career, Anita selects songs that had not been hits, the only two immediately hummable songs being 'Swinging on a Star' and 'The Beat Goes On,' a hit for Sonny & Cher in 1966. 12 songs that are generally new to our ears, polished with sweet vocals and strings: 'Happiness,' 'Wine in the Wind,' 'Say You Do,' 'Long Live Our Love,' 'I Would Love You,' 'The Two of Us,' 'I've Got Love Going for Me' and 'They Always Ask Me'Éthese are romantic songs to slow dance and fall in love to, that would fit right in on Lawrence Welk's or Andy Williams' show, the kind of songs sung by Anita and her Singers to appreciative audiences from 4 generations.

Songlist: Happiness, Wine in the Wind, Today is, Say You Do, I'm Falling in Love Again, Long Live Our Love, I Would Love You, The Beat Goes On, The Two of Us, I've Got Love Going for Me, They Always Ask Me, Swinging on a Star